Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento

Bear Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I should have shown you the turkey burgers I made! They're in there, I promise. I mixed in shredded zucchini and carrot along with ground turkey, onion, garlic, pepper, and... Worcestershire sauce! And ketchup. It came out pretty good, I think. I melted cheddar on them and then laid them on whole wheat sandwich thins with garden lettuce. Of course I had to make Rilakkuma's face on there. His ears are roasted sweet potato (I also made sweet potato fries along with dinner), and his face is made of white cheddar and nori. On the side, MisterMan has sliced pluots, garden orange sunsugar tomatoes, and grapes. And a little Rilakkuma fork. Awwws!
Added to What's For Lunch.

I Love Watermelon (Radish)! Bento

I Love Watermelon (Radish)! Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

You can't see the burger in the photo, but I tried a new meatless recipe. It consists of about a cup of roasted sweet potato, a cup of brown rice / barley, and a cup or two of black beans, processed along with sauteed onions, garlic, cumin, and Worchestershire sauce to taste. The patties stuck together pretty well, which often is not the case (in my experience) with bean burgers. I melted cheese and served with tomato slices next to a side of cabbage / onion / carrot slaw tossed with vinegar, shoyu and a bit of superfine sugar. The last section of the LunchBots Trio contains the miniature spring selection of fruit at my farmers market: strawberries, apricot and nectarine. We have watermelon too, but the cheddar bear is actually enjoying a slice of watermelon radish. Those are good too, even if they're not quite as sweet!

Bearwich Bento

Bearwich Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's Monday and MisterMan is back from his camping trip to Gold Country! He had a fantastic time, as I expected, and he learned a lot. The kids panned for gold, baked their own cornbread in the coals, and negotiated their own solo hike (part of a 3 mile, 800 ft elevation gain trek!). I was surprised that 4th-graders were able to handle themselves responsibly and effectively (within small parentally chaperoned groups), with limited to no adult help. So proud of my young man. We spent the weekend together enjoying our reunited family, and that means the Monday bento is a quickie sandwich one. This one is a salmon burger with lettuce on a whole wheat sandwich thin, with strategically positioned steamed Okinawan sweet potatoes to depict a bear face. That's all I could manage today, along with tomatoes, blackberries and house-pickled cucumbers and carrot-daikon sticks. Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to tackle a new week ahead!

Breakfast For Lunch EcoDippers Bento, Pt. 3

Breakfast For Lunch Bento, Pt. 3, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Breakfast for lunch day! (See BFL bentos 1 and 2 here) Woohoo! I was looking at my EcoDipper containers and happened to notice that they are perfectly sized for whole wheat sandwich mini thins. I took it as a sign to make a sandwich! The EcoDippers are ideal for sandwiches because while their lids slide on securely, they are not watertight. The food inside won't condense and get soggy with temperature changes, which is nice for the food I've packed today. I made a fried egg with shredded spinach in my cute mini round fry pan, which happens to be sized perfectly for both the sandwich thin and the EcoDipper. Is that cool or what? If I had some Canadian bacon, this would have been a cinch. As it was, I only had deli ham (nitrite-free), so I folded it to fit. I also toasted the breads with grated cheddar. I topped the sandwich with a jack cheese bear face and put that into one EcoDipper. I packed the other with a variety of treats: tiny satsuma mandarin, grape, strawberry, house-pickled cucumbers, and a couple of steamed Okinawan sweet potato slices. What a cute little TinySprite-sized bento set, don't you think?

Calzone Bear Bento

Calzone Bear Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Gotta love the calzone for the ease and fun factor, not to mention the fact that it's a no-brainer to pack. Especially when you have the Sistema compartmentalized bento box. I've come to think of this box as my calzone box since that is what I've been packing in the large open section; you can also fit a standard sandwich or even a burger. It's not practical for messy foods since the two halves come together and become inverted after closure, but it works quite nicely for breads. Can you see the bear? I added some facial details with extra dough, a party hat for fun, and filled out the other side with grapes, strawberry, broccoli, tomatoes, and cara cara oranges.

Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento

Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Bear burger! This one has turkey and bison (combined because I wasn't sure how well the bison taste would go over), decorated with cheese and nori to make his face upon a spinach bed. There's homemade barbeque sauce in the little container, alongside carrots, strawberry and cinnamon sprinkled apple chunks. Easy peasy, and a hit with my meat-loving girl ^_^

Panda Egg Salmon Patty Bear Onigiri Lunchbots Bento

Panda Egg Salmon Patty Bear Onigiri Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I packed a couple of salmon patties for TinySprite in the Lunchbots Trio box. Like with the bean burgers, I bulked them up with extras; this time I used brown/white rice and quinoa. I also added shredded carrot, and minced onion and celery. It's good with Dijon mustard and a little yogurt or sour cream, and a squirt of lemon juice. Just mix until the consistency holds together, then flatten some balls and pan-fry. You can serve with mustard Old Bay aioli on a bun, but I've just placed her patties in some lettuce leaves. There's a little bear onigiri, some carrots sticks, corn off the cob, a panda egg (I cut the ears, eyes and mouth from grapes by hand), and assorted fruit (strawberry, pluot and blueberries. The kids are really digging the burger variations. What else can I make a burger out of? Hmmm.

Totoro and Bear Calzone Bento

Totoro Calzone Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today the kids get calzones again! I used roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, lots of cheese, and baby arugula in the meatless ones, and salami and pepperoni in the meatlover ones. Love them. MisterMan got Totoro, with radish and nori eyes and nose, and soba whiskers, and TinySprite got a brown bear.

The rest of the bentos contain broccoli, peapods, carrots, corn, plum, strawberries, blackberries and grapes. Love this pizza and calzone week. Super fun and easy, and everyone's happy! P.S. I think I'm getting the hang of shaping them now. No puffy pig snouts!

Double Bears Bento

Char Siu Bear Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yesterday in the Chinese deli both kids requested buns for their bentos. MisterMan asked for char siu bao and TinySprite wanted a hot dog bun. They both become bears with a little effort and some imagination. All I did for the bao bear is cut an oval for his muzzle and then cut that piece of brown bread (skin) in half for the two ears. The eyes and mouth are cut from nori and stuck on with honey. There's also some provolone cheese for the eyes.

The hot dog bear is made the same way, except he's snuggled up in a sleeping bag. Okay? My 4 year old seemed to buy it, but of course my 7 year old frowned, "It doesn't really look like a sleeping bag because there's no line to separate it." All right. I should have cut a sleeping bag slit. I'll try to remember that for next time. At least, he's got some butterflies that he's watching while asleep under the stars.

They have the usual sides: broccoli, carrot, tomato, corn on the cob, various berries, pluot and peach, and beautiful Okinawan purple sweet potato. This is the first kawaii bento I've made all month, since school let out. Oops! I thought I would have more time to make charaben in the summer but since the kids have been on break I've been preoccupied with other funstuffs :D Now that they're both back in organized summer programs I might start experimenting again. Or maybe I'll make a bento or two for myself for a change? ^_^

Cooking Channel Bentos

Cooking Channel Bentos, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Here are two of the bentos I made for the shoot on Sunday. (See the finished commecial here!) There was another one but that was the one TinySprite grabbed and scarfed up in addition to the heaping one she made herself. Each kid made their own bento and then ate it. There wasn't any way I could take a picture of theirs. I should have taken a photo of these bentos before all the activity, but I didn't think of it, which is why these had to be shot in bad (artificial) light. Both feature Korean chicken in a lettuce leaf along with steamed broccoli, carrots and carved cucumbers; and varied berries for dessert. I added steamed corn and a shoyu bear egg to one, and a rice section (which I rarely do but which provides a very nice backdrop for a charaben design) with a matryoshka made of Okinawan purple potatoes, cheese, sweet potato and nori to the other. Some cute picks add color and whimsy.

I was surprised to find that making three bento at once wasn't much more work than one (or two, which is the most I ever make at a time for my two kids). And even though the third bento contained totally different ingredients (rollups), it still was pretty manageable. The key is to be prepared and have everything you need at hand, which saves time. MisterMan and TinySprite took these to school the next day, with furikake sprinkled on the rice. I'm thinking in addition to making their own bento, they can soon begin to cook the food for me too... ^_^

Added to What's For Lunch!

Garlic Shrimp and Farro Bento

Today's bento contains farro topped with pan-fried garlic shrimp and spinach. This grain is pretty hearty and substantial, and I cooked it so that it had just a little chewiness to it. Seems like it would be good as a breakfast meal (like oatmeal, with cinnamon and brown sugar) to me. Or does that sound strange? Anyway, you can use this grain as rice, pasta, and tossed with just about whatever vegetables or meat you like. It's very versatile. I roasted some asparagus and added a steamed sweet potato bear face. Fruit section contains the usual strawberry and grapes. Pretty quick one, but healthy and satisfying for my growing boy.

Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori Field Trip Bento

Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori Field Trip Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Can you guess what day it is? That's right: field trip! They're going to visit a working farm with tractors and everything. I packed another recycled strawberry tub for him, with the standard field trip fare -- sandwich, veggies and fruits.

But this burger is even more awesome than yesterday's. I used the same burger mix and stuffed today's burger with cheese and salami, then pan-fried. The cheese oozed out the side and got all crispy and golden around the edge of the burger, and the parts of the salami that stuck out got crispy-fried too. Yum. And remember, he still gets the carrot and broccoli bits in the turkey burger too. Super score. I lay some dandelion greens in the whole wheat bun and placed the patty on top. I found these little buns and thought they would make a cute Rilakkuma. I used Susan's idea for raisin eyes and nose (but I later pb'd them on), and added a radish muzzle and nori mouth. His ears are salami rounds. And Kiiroitori is there too, to make sure he doesn't fall asleep. I dyed a hard-boiled quail egg with golden beet juice, and it turned a super dark shade of yellow. I love it, especially since it's totally natural! Facial details and feet are nori and carrot. I used grass baran to keep the fruit and veggies separate from the bread. Along with carrot sticks and romanesco, I tossed in a bunch of strawberry cherries, a half plum and a homegrown apricot.

Have fun MisterMan!

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains some sliced pork, cooked in the slow-cooker, Okinawan style. Slow-cooking meat is easy and effortless, and you always end up with tender, moist, delicious meat. This recipe is no exception. It's sweet and rich, and the sauce is delicious over rice and veggies. Perhaps you've noticed we like to use all kinds of meat sauces over our veggies. In our house, such a tasty sauce will magically make ANY veggie desirable. Guaranteed. You should really try it with your little ones. Broccoli, choy, cauliflower, even sweet potatoes get dipped in sauce. You might be surprised at what they'll agree to eat!

3-4 pounds pork butt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inch ginger root, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin
1/2 cup shoyu
1/2 cup miso

Combine all ingredients except the pork, mix well, put in slow cooker.
Place pork in slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours, until tender.
Turn over midway through cooking to brown the other side.
Cool, then slice. Enjoy!

The rest of the bento includes a mixed rice onigiri which is hidden beneath a flower made of sliced radish, purple potato and peapods, steamed broccoli, and a hard boiled egg shaped into a bear face. I know it looks really weird, but I put nori dots in the eye and nose indentations, and a nori strip in the mouth, because I thought you would be able to see it better. Um, I guess I have to change the settings on my camera since a few of the last photos have had a lot of glare and intense brightness. You can't even tell I shaped it; but believe me -- I did, and it came out perfect too, no cracks or anything! Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

There's also a yellow carrot flower, white peach slices, a strawberry and some blackberries. All packed in my stainless steel Lunchbots box. This one has no dividers, but never mind; the silicone cups do well at separating the fruit from the rest of the meal. This nice compact box fits well in my boy's little insulated tote.

Oh, and I almost forgot: this one qualifies for Hapabento's BOMB contest for Flowery Bento, yay!
Happy bento!

Burrito Bears Bento

Burrito Bears Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento is a very simple and easy one. It's simply 2 sections of chicken burrito in a lettuce wrap, with steamed broccoli, grape tomatoes, baby carrots and skewered yellow carrot flowers all squeezed into the main compartment of the Ecolunch stainless steel bento box. I like that this box comes with a lidded separate container, which I have used to hold "liquidy" food such as yogurt or cottage cheese, or even extra salsa or sauce. Today it holds slices of Cara Cara oranges, a strawberry, some red grapes and a blackberry. I left the lid of the container off, and just covered with the box lid -- which by the way seals very tightly itself.

The only cute details in this bento come from the twin bear picks, which MisterMan said looked like they were sitting cutely on a bench together, and maybe the carrot flowers, which took a couple seconds to cut out. An example of how a perfectly fine bento can come together in a minimum of time and effort, still healthy and fresh-looking, on those days when you have way too much to do rather than work on the bento.

Oh, and it's Mexican food too! Happy Cinco de Mayo week!

Before & After Bento Project

The Before and After Bento Project came about when my fellow bentomakers and I were sharing photos of our bento from days long past. Debra (Hapabento), Megan (Bento Zen), Susan (Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook) and I had a laugh over how much our styles have changed over the months and years. After all, we can't help but learn and grow from experience -- what tastes good, what holds up well, what looks good. Debra had the idea for us to each take our first posted bento and "remake" it, using the same ingredients and the same box, to see how it might turn out today. What an interesting project it turned out to be.
First of all, I had been making bento for my son for many years, although it never occurred to me to make them "look good". The first time I posted a bento on flickr was just out of curiosity. I had been reading Just Bento and happened upon the flickr group there. So here goes; my first "published" bento, from February 16, 2009:

As it happens, I still have this box, and use it from time to time, but I have since come to realize that it's pretty large for my kid's appetite. As you can see, I don't come near to filling it up. One thing I've learned over the years is that a tightly packed smaller size bento box forces you to think about the type of calories you choose to fill it with. As a bonus, the foods are less likely to move around in a tightly packed box. However, I wanted to see if I could use this box and the same foods, and arrange it in a more pleasing manner. I was happy to discover that basically all these foods are ones that I still make and pack. So I didn't have to compromise in terms of nutrition. My main objective was to "rearrange". Here's what I did:

So what do you think? I'll admit that my 2009 bento was probably packed in a couple of minutes max, while the re-do version bento took time for me to cut nori and carve cucumbers and carrots. I also took some liberties with the kind of rice (I used a red/brown mix). But, overall I think the extra effort was not unreasonable.

It was fun to do this. Perhaps you might get a kick out of looking back through your old bento archives and reminisce about your changing tastes and techniques as well. If I do it again in another year, I bet I'll come up with something completely different again :)

Don't forget to check out my fellow bento-makers' takes on the Before and After Project. We all have differing bento backgrounds and our "first" bento comes from varying timeframes. You may be surprised!

Debra at Hapabento

Megan at Bento Zen

Susan at Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook

Finally, thanks to Debra, Megan and Susan for collaborating with me on a fun post! We've all learned a lot; I know I have from all of you!

Brown Bear Shoyu Egg Bento

Brown Bear Shoyu Egg Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains the ever-popular kid favorite rotisserie chicken, on a lettuce bed. I made a brown bear from a hard-boiled egg by letting it sit in a small bowl of shoyu. After rolling it around to get even color, let it sit on its side for a few more minutes without moving. You'll see that the spot it's resting on will be a little lighter in color than the rest. I used this spot for the bear's nose. His facial details are cut from nori and satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato).

There's also a cherry tomato half, some kumquats, strawberries, blackberry, grapes, baby carrots, broccoli and peapods. I really like this box too. It's just the right size for my boy's appetite, and all the sections allow me to keep foods and flavors separate.

I'm so happy we're starting to see some colorful fruits and vegetables in the markets. I'm hoping my bento get more and more colorful as a result, as the season goes on... how about you?

Brown Bear Bento

Brown Bear Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today I made a batch of mixed rice, containing black "Forbidden" rice, brown rice and regular white rice. This combinations ends up looking kind of multihued purple and black. It's nutty and chewy, and really good -- the kids love it too! Anyway, I always think this rice makes a nice bear-colored musubi, so that's what I made.

The bear face is molded by hand using fresh, hot rice, and the facial details are made from tofu and nori. I also baked some wild Alaskan salmon with just olive oil, and then dressed it in Mauna Kea sauce, which I usually use with chicken as in this bento, but which is also good with fish.

For color I added star cut baby carrots and a grape tomato puffy heart (thanks for the idea, hapa bento!)! I also roasted some brussels sprouts and mini sweet peppers. If you crosscut the sprouts, you'll see that they open up and "bloom" during cooking. Sometimes I toss with balsamic vinegar, which saturates them all the way through and they taste fanTAStic!

Fruits include strawberry, red grapes and mini mandarin.
Rawr!

Field Trip Bento #2

Field Trip Bento #2, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento is completely disposable because MisterMan is going on a field trip to the Children's Museum. I usually pack a sandwich, boring as it may be, because it's the easiest thing for him to eat neatly whilst sitting on a bench somewhere in the windy, rainy, stormy weather we've been having lately.

In his whole wheat sandwich thin he gets a fried egg, ham, cheddar cheese and spring greens. I put a bear face on top to make it a little happier. The bear is made of corn tortilla and his facial features are nori. The crown is a piece of cheddar cheese. To make the face to stick to the sandwich, I melted some cheese on the back to "glue" it on.

I also threw in a peeled satsuma mandarin, a giant strawberry, and some cherries. I wrapped it all up in wax paper to keep it from drying out, and I used a grass baran to try to keep the sandwich away from the fruits to keep it from getting soggy.

For the container, I used a recycled plastic strawberry box, which I like because it has a lid which snaps shut tightly. Of course, there are holes all over the box, which is why I had to use the wax paper. Actually, I put the whole thing in another plastic bag with his water bottle, so that should keep everything from drying out too much before lunchtime.

Here's a pic of the closed box.

Have a good time, MisterMan!!